Chapter 421 Mantra

There are definitely no extra medicinal herbs.

Li Si's face was expressionless. As a robot, he certainly didn't know what embarrassment meant. He straightened his back and refused directly, "I'm sorry, County Magistrate, but this batch of herbs has already been ordered by Miss Gu from Taohua Village. If there are any more herbs later, I can sell them to you first."

Upon hearing that it was the medicinal herbs ordered by Gu Jiayue, Zheng Qinghe's fingers holding the teacup suddenly tightened.

Taohua Village originally belongs to Annan County, and the villagers there are considered his people.

When you think about it this way, it doesn't seem to make any difference who the herbs are given to.

He relaxed his tense shoulders and spoke in a more gentle tone. "Alright, I'll give you a note right away. Take it and go to Taohua Village quickly. And by the way, please help me check on Miss Gu's current situation."

Li Si took the note, folded it carefully and put it in his arms. He turned around and walked out of the county government office quickly, driving the carriage to Taohua Village.

The wheels made a regular sound as they rolled over the bluestone road, and the bitter scent of medicinal herbs drifted away on the wind.

In just two hours, the carriage arrived at the entrance of Taohua Village. He pulled the reins to stop, shouted to the people coming towards him, and quickly handed the herbs to Gu Jiayue.

"Miss, the county magistrate just asked me if I had any extra herbs and if I could give some to him."

Li Si stood aside with a cautious look on his face, his eyes fixed on Gu Jiayue while he spoke.

Extra herbs?

Gu Jiayue's brows furrowed suddenly, and she was worried. Where could there be any extra herbs now?

These herbs had already used up all her education points that she could advance, and she didn't want to look at the shocking negative numbers on the system panel all day.

She took a deep breath and suppressed the irritation in her heart. "Tell him to wait. Maybe I can come up with a solution after a while."

Li Si nodded, turned around and rode the empty carriage back to the county town.

Gu Jiayue accepted the herbs and without a moment's hesitation, she immediately beckoned over a few strong men from the village. "Take these herbs to the school cafeteria and have the people working there quickly boil them into medicinal soup and distribute them to the villagers."

Everyone responded and hurriedly carried the medicinal herbs to the school.

For the entire day, smoke kept coming out of the canteen's chimney, and the aroma of medicine filled most of the village.

By the evening, the herbs were boiled into a decoction.

Four large black pots were placed side by side on the Cuju field in Taohua Village. The medicine in the pots was still bubbling, and the steaming white mist rose straight into the sky.

"Are you all ready?" Gu Jiayue stood next to the pot, her eyes sweeping over the neatly arranged team, her voice clear.

Su Zhuxing was looking down at her medicine-stained apron. When she heard the question, she straightened up with a gentle smile on her face. "Everything is ready!"

"Okay, let's start!" Gu Jiayue nodded slightly.

Following her order, all the villagers in Taohua Village who had not been infected with the plague immediately lined up into four neat teams. Everyone had a solemn look on their face as they waited quietly to receive the medicine.

The four teachers including Su Zhuxing were each responsible for a medicine pot.

Whenever he scooped a bowl of medicine from the pot and handed it to the villagers, they would deliberately raise their voices and say, "Come on, uncle, just repeat it after me."

"Remember to wear a mask, don't forget to put it on when you go out!"

The uncle took the bowl of medicine, his face full of confusion and his eyes filled with some doubt.

What is this doing?

Could it be that if I recite this mantra and then take the medicine, I can get better faster?

He looked at Su Zhuxing and then at the people around him, but still opened his mouth and recited it again.

"Auntie, yes, let's do it again. Wash your hands frequently and pay attention to hygiene, and viruses and bacteria will not dare to run away!"

Su Zhuxing scooped up another bowl of medicine and handed it to an old lady, repeating it patiently.

The four of them were teachers in a school. They should have returned home after the school was closed, but the county magistrate suddenly issued an order to close the village. They were trapped in the village and could not leave even if they wanted to.

Since they were free anyway, Gu Jiayue gave them the glorious task of teaching the villagers the epidemic prevention motto.

Teach everyone a catchy rhyme.

These rhymes about how to defend against and prevent the plague were only thought out by Gu Jiayue after staying up all night thinking for a long time the night before.

It's easy to say and remember, and everyone who comes to get their medicine has to practice it. How can this not be considered learning?

She didn't game the system.

"Education value plus 1"

"Education value plus 3"

"Education value plus 100!"

The system prompt sound kept ringing in her mind. Gu Jiayue looked at the education value that kept jumping and increasing on the panel. The corners of her mouth couldn't help but rise, and her eyes flashed with excitement.

The system in my mind also seemed to become active due to the continuously increasing value.

Look, wherever there are people, there will be no shortage of educators!

"But host, look at you, you still owe the system hundreds of thousands of transaction value. The amount you deposit every day is really a drop in the bucket. It's not even enough to pay back the interest." The system's voice was a little helpless.

Gu Jiayue touched her nose. "It doesn't matter. If there are too many lice, I'm not afraid of them biting me. Just take it slow! It's better than nothing, right?"

The system was silent for a moment, as if it felt that what the host said made sense.

In the entire Taohua Village, there are only about 1,000 people, including men, women, young and old.

Under normal circumstances, this kind of educational progress is indeed not slow.

But now is a critical moment, and education points have to be exchanged for things everywhere, so this value is really not enough.

Gu Jiayue thought, Zheng Qinghe had sent someone to ask for medicine during the day, and it seemed that the situation in the county town was also very difficult. She had to find a way to help.

"Tang Gao, if all these medicines are boiled down, how many days can they last?" She turned to look at the young man who was counting the medicinal residues not far away.

Tang Gao was Lin Yi's newest disciple, a village native. When he heard Gu Jiayue calling him, he immediately stopped what he was doing and ran over, respectfully replying, "Master, I just did a rough calculation, and these herbs can last for five days!"

Gu Jiayue nodded.

The defensive prescription clearly states that it needs to be drunk for three consecutive days, twice a day, for it to be effective. It is not possible to completely resist the virus by drinking it once.

Five days... is still too little.

She thought for a moment and said to Tang Gao, "Give me a day's supply!"

"Okay!" Tang Gao responded immediately without any hesitation.

He didn't even ask Gu Jiayue what she was going to do with the medicine.

Anyway, these medicines were obtained by the teacher with great effort. What she wants to do with them is her business. As a junior, I have no right to interfere.

After carefully wrapping the separated herbs, Gu Jiayue called Hu Zi.

"You take these herbs to the county government office and have the county magistrate prepare them and distribute them to the residents of the county."

She gave another specific instruction. "You must stand guard and make sure everyone who comes to get the medicine recites the plague-prevention jingle I compiled! If they don't, I won't give them the medicine!"

Hu Zi was stunned for a moment. This request was indeed a bit strange.

"Okay, I'll do it right away." He pulled the carriage, turned around and walked out of the village.

As someone Gu Jiayue trusted, he knew that a mature subordinate should not question how bizarre the master's requests were, but should try his best to get things done.

When Zheng Qinghe heard Gu Jiayue's request, his face was full of confusion and his brows were twisted into knots.

But when he took the piece of paper with the rhyme written on it and read it, his eyes gradually brightened and he instantly understood Gu Jiayue's intention.

There are limited medicinal materials now, and there is no guarantee that everyone can get enough medicine.

At this time, we can only start defending ourselves from the little things in our daily life.

If you follow Gu Jiayue's rhyme, although you cannot completely eliminate the risk of contracting the plague, you can at least greatly reduce the chance of infection.

He nodded solemnly to Hu Zi. "Tell Jia Yue to rest assured. I will do as she asks."

At this time in Annan County, the atmosphere was so depressing that it was suffocating.

The streets were deserted. The usually bustling market was deserted, with only the whistling sound of the wind blowing through the street corners.

Only in the county town's medical clinic, coughs, cries of pain and groans of agony could be heard from time to time, making people feel nervous.

Hu Zi stood there with his hands folded across his chest. Anyone who came to get the medicine had to recite the incantation honestly, otherwise he would never give him the medicine.

However, an uninvited guest arrived on the small road in Taohua Village.

Xie Qingyun stood at the entrance of the village, his eyes fixed on the school not far away that was out of tune with the overall style of the village, and his brows furrowed slightly.

He lowered his head and looked at the book in his hands.

That is a new type of textbook that has recently become popular in Kyoto and Juzhou Prefecture.

The contents recorded in it are similar to what his master once taught him.

After making inquiries from many sources, he finally determined the source of these textbooks.

Taohua Village, Annan County!

And what a coincidence, the children who won first place at the Lanting Elegant Party at the beginning of the year also came from Taohua Village.

What kind of person can teach such a child and compile such a textbook?

Could the person who taught them this be the one the master has been looking for?

Xie Qingyun felt like something was tickling his heart, and an irrepressible eagerness surged up in him, and he couldn't help but take a few steps forward.

"stop!"

Just as he was about to move forward, two big men holding wooden sticks suddenly jumped out from a hut not far away and blocked his way.

"Who are you? Why are you here in Taohua Village at this hour?" one of the men asked in a booming voice, his eyes gazing him up and down warily. "Don't you know that the county magistrate has issued an order forbidding unauthorized movement?"

Xie Qingyun was stunned for a moment.

He had always had a smooth journey along the way thanks to the reputation of the National Master's Mansion, and he did not expect to be stopped here.

He calmed himself down and said calmly, "I am Xie Qingyun, the eldest disciple of the Imperial Master's Mansion in Kyoto. I have come here to handle an important matter. Please introduce me to your village chief!"

Someone from the Imperial Master’s Mansion?

The two big men looked at each other with a hint of surprise in their eyes.

It is strange to say that most of the people in Dagan believe in Buddhism and temples can be seen everywhere, but the royal family of Dagan chose to enshrine a Taoist master as the national master.

This has always been a topic of much discussion among the people.

"What proof do you have?" Another big man took a step forward, his tone still defensive.

Xie Qingyun did not hesitate and took out a wooden plaque with special patterns engraved on it from his arms. His name and identity were clearly engraved on it.

The two big men took the wooden sign, looked at it briefly together, and could not find any flaws for the time being.

But they didn't dare let people into the village so easily. The epidemic in the village had finally been brought under control. If the plague spread again because of an unidentified person being let in, they couldn't afford it.

"Wait here. I'll take your identity documents to show to the village chief!"

One of the big men said this, turned around and ran towards the village with the wooden sign, while the other one stayed where he was, staring at Xie Qingyun, fearing that he would break in during the chaos.